Qi3 Ventures successfully exits Lintbells investment

Qi3 Ventures and Origin Capital have realised their joint investment in pet health company Lintbells.

Origin and Qi3 Ventures backed Lintbells at an early stage of it’s growth, in April 2012, at which time Tim de VereGreen and Paul Anson, of Origin and Qi3 Ventures respectively, joined the company’s board as non-executive directors. Since then, the business has grown to become one of the UK’s leading pet supplement providers. The realisation is connected with a significant investment in the company by private equity investor Inflexion, and has yielded healthy returns for Origin and Qi3 Ventures over the c. 5.5 year holding period.

Nathan Hill of Qi3 Ventures and Tim de Vere Green, CEO of Origin, commented: “We are delighted to report an excellent outcome from our joint investment in Lintbells. This is a result of the outstanding work the founders, management team, and employees have undertaken to grow the company over the last 6 years. We are sure there are still many exciting opportunities for Lintbells ahead, and we wish the team every success as they exploit these with the help of their new partner, Inflexion.”

John Howie, CEO of Lintbells, said: “Qi3 Ventures and Origin have been extremely supportive investors, and we are very grateful for their contributions during the period they have been involved. We now look forward to working closely with Inflexion to drive Lintbells’ future growth through attracting new customers and launching new products, and entering new geographies.”Tim Smallbone, Head of the Enterprise Fund, Inflexion, commented: “We are delighted to have partnered with such a strong and motivated management team. The business is well placed to accelerate its already impressive growth in both the UK and internationally, with significant investment and R&D underpinning Lintbells’ prospects.”

Qi3 Ventures provides early stage investment and hands-on support for growing technology businesses. It is also a Limited Partner in Seraphim Space, the world’s first space technology focused Venture Capital fund.